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Legalize Weed: Marijuana Legalization

According to a recent article, October 1st 2012 marks the 75th anniversary of marijuana prohibition. According to another article, the 75th anniversary was August 2nd, 2012. Whenever the date was (or is, or will be), anniversaries of pot prohibition is not really on everyone’s radar, but the question of “un”-prohibiting it, or to legalize weed is. Proponents of legalize weed may score a huge victory this November as three states, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon, are all voting for the outright legality of the drug. This would be a monumental milestone in American history; the aftershocks from a passing of the laws would alter the socio-economic landscape of the country, perhaps for better, perhaps for worse. The bottom line here is that change of a great magnitude is potentially coming.

To Legalize Weed Or Not

So, pardon the pun, is marijuana legalization turning a new leaf? NORML, the National Organization of the Reform of Marijuana Laws, has worked diligently for over 40 years lobbying law makers to legalize weed. Reasons cited for lifting the ban on marijuana include basic freedoms of choice, medical advances in the drug’s efficacy, as well as economic advantages given to decriminalization. Whatever side of the controversial fence a person is, the ramifications of bringing a narcotic into the public sector will have a direct correlation to the recovery community. Like the lifting of alcohol prohibition in 1933 after 13 years of controversy and the much publicized rise of organized crime, the fallout changed the social complexion of the United States. (Organized crime was always a latent threat to the rule of law BEFORE prohibition—see piracy, Thugees in India, any conspicuous enterprise or activity that willfully subverts the law within the jurisdiction of said enterprise)

Addicted To Weed

So what is the point for you and me? It means that the potential increase in a drug’s accessibility equals greater probability for abuse and addiction. This means if there is such an issue for you or a loved one, the question of how to choose the right drug treatment center is imperative. An interesting coincidence of history is that Alcoholics Anonymous purveyor Bill Wilson started his sobriety in 1934, on year AFTER alcohol prohibition was lifted (1933). This means that the whole paradigm of addiction recovery and subsequent privatization of addiction treatment rehab programs occurred after alcohol was legalized (again). Decriminalization of illicit substances directly correlates with an increase of the probability of addiction and also the necessity of programs to help those who suffer from abuse.